China investigates EU pork imports, with Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark and France most affected

The investigation announced by China's Ministry of Commerce on Monday will focus on pork for human consumption, such as fresh, chilled and frozen whole pork, as well as pig offal such as intestines, bladders and stomachs. The investigation will begin on June 17.

The Ministry of Commerce said the China Animal Husbandry Association submitted a complaint on June 6 on behalf of the domestic pork industry.

Global food companies have been on high alert for high tariffs that China may introduce after the European Commission announced on June 12 that it would impose anti-subsidy tariffs of up to 38.1% on imported Chinese cars from July.

Spain is China's largest pork supplier. Interporc, a large Spanish pork producer group, said they would fully cooperate with the investigation by Chinese authorities.

"The EU and China have enough time to reach an agreement," Interporc said in a statement.

While the investigation is ongoing, European pork producers should be able to continue to export to China tariff-free, pending China's decision and tariff announcement.

The Ministry of Commerce said the investigation should be completed by June 17, 2025, but could be extended for another six months if necessary.

The Danish Agriculture and Food Council, a lobbying group, warned on Monday that any restrictions on sales to China would deal an "incredibly heavy blow" to the Danish pork industry.

If the Chinese government restricts pork imports from the EU, pork suppliers from South America, the United States and Russia could gain more market share.

Among China's main sources of pork imports, Spain is China's top pork import source with a 23% share, according to Chinese customs data for 2023. Brazil and the United States follow closely behind. In the EU, in addition to Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark and France are also major suppliers of pork products to China.

According to customs data, the EU accounted for more than half of China's imports of about $6 billion worth of pork in 2023, of which a full quarter came from Spain.

The Netherlands and Denmark, which ranked second and third, exported pork products worth $620 million and $550 million to China last year, respectively.

A spokesman for the European Commission said the EU was not worried about China launching an investigation and said it would intervene appropriately to ensure that the investigation complied with all relevant World Trade Organization rules.

Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao traveled to Spain earlier this month to talk to officials ahead of a European Commission decision on whether Chinese electric vehicle producers benefited from distortive state subsidies.

“It’s not the first time that an investigation announced in a jurisdiction has been met with tit-for-tat, and it’s not surprising given the EU electric vehicle investigation,” said Jens Eskelund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China.

“Free and open markets rely on rules-based trading practices,” he added.

Growing Western concerns about alleged “overcapacity in Chinese industry leading to cheap products, including electric vehicles, flooding the EU” have opened a new front in the West’s trade war with China. Going back to an earlier era, the trade war began with Washington’s tariffs on Chinese imports in 2018.

Reuters said, “The EU’s trade policy is becoming increasingly protectionist in response to the global impact of China’s production-focused, debt-driven development model. When the government suspects that imported goods are sold at prices below their production costs, it usually imposes anti-dumping duties to protect domestic companies.”